


Leave Me Your Wake To Remember You By

by Smokeycut



Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: F/F, Loss of Identity, Recovery, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-10-01 01:06:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17234531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smokeycut/pseuds/Smokeycut
Summary: Someone near and dear to Cassandra Cain is turned into someone they aren't. Every aspect of them, the things that made them a part of her life, gone without a trace. Can she bring them back from nothing? Or will they be lost to her forever?





	Leave Me Your Wake To Remember You By

_”Does anybody have eyes on her?”_ Batman asked over the comms.

“Me.”

_”Batgirl, I’m closer, let me-”_ Red Robin started, before being cut off.

“No. Has to be me.”

The black clad vigilante leapt over the hedge, and landed between it and the small table where “Alice” was sitting. The girl was smiling vacantly, sipping at a cup of tea as windup puppets of a dormouse and a hare danced around the table. The blonde wig on her head was slightly askew, just by a degree or two, but the outfit she wore was cared for immaculately. A powder blue knee length dress with short, poofy sleeves and a white pinafore over it, white stockings and black mary janes covering her lower half, and the aforementioned blonde wig, with a black hairband in it. A card was sticking out from behind her ear, and she turned her head to look at Batgirl the instant she landed.

Batgirl dashed forward, faster than the captive young woman could react. Mad Hatter was puppeting her remotely, via the card, but removing it and severing his control was a simple task. Batgirl reached out and snatched the card, pulling it free and flinging it into the hedges with one fluid movement. She whipped back around to see the girl settling back into her seat. The light in her eyes returned as the mind control faded, but for some strange reason, Hatter’s “Alice” for the evening didn’t react the way she ought to have. They had rescued girls from the insane little troll countless times. They always freaked out in some way once the connection was broken. Some cried, some ran, some tore at the costume they had been dressed up in and cursed Hatter’s name until they were out of breath. Knowing what she knew about his latest victim, Batgirl fully expected her to hunt Hatter down and beat him within an inch of his life as payback.

But she stayed in her seat, and took another sip of tea. She looked at the windup hare and giggled as he whacked the dormouse with a mallet. She adjusted her blonde wig so that it was resting correctly on her head. She kept playing the part. Batgirl tried to shake her, to snap her out of it, but she insisted on “finishing afternoon tea”. 

Red Robin arrived to find Batgirl gripping “Alice’s” shoulders, shaking her and whispering “wake up” over and over, to no avail. His heart sank at the sight of it. Batman’s voice crackled over the comms again. 

_”I’ve got Tetch. How is she holding up?_ ”

“Batman… You need to come here,” Red Robin said in a small voice. 

He came running as fast as he could. Hatter was unconscious, laying in a heap with his mind controlled goons. He could come back to secure the criminal later, after the safety of his victim was assured. Unlike his more acrobatic proteges, the caped crusader tore right through the hedges in their direction. He broke through into the small, enclosed area where she had been held by Mad Hatter. A table was in the center, covered by a large, blank white cloth, with a tea set resting on top. Elaborate white garden chairs encircled the table, yet only one seat was filled. Batgirl and Red Robin were standing on either side of her seat. Tim’s face was pale, and Cassandra was even worse.

“Please, wake up. Be you,” Batgirl pleaded. She had discarded her mask and come around in front of the victim, and Bruce saw tears welling up in his adopted daughter’s eyes. He reached out and hugged her, pulling her away from the girl just for the moment. He only caught a glimpse of the tea party scene, but it was more than enough to break his heart. The same question ran through his mind that Tim and Cassandra were surely asking themselves.

Why was she still acting like Alice, instead of Harper Row?

**Author's Note:**

> You know, aside from killing the New Mutants? This might be the cruelest thing I've ever written. Happy New Year's, folks!


End file.
